Push for more defibrillators

St John Ambulance WA wants to see more emergency defibrillators available across WA — and wants Margaret River residents to join its campaign.

The ambulance provider said it aimed to register 5000 Community First Responder locations Statewide by Christmas.

There are 48 emergency stations in the Augusta-Margaret River shire and about 3700 registered across WA so far.

St John operators can refer residents to the nearest defibrillator while awaiting an ambulance, and the program is linked with St John’s First Responder smartphone app, which shows the location of registered defibrillators and alerts registered first aiders in the vicinity to emergencies.

St John manager Sally Simmonds said the app also let residents dial triple-0 while providing GPS co-ordinates for paramedics. “The Community First Responder program creates a vital link between St John, local businesses and community groups. which makes early defibrillation possible,” she said.

“A cardiac arrest can affect anyone.

“More than 33,000 Australians die from the condition each year,” she said.

“The single biggest factor in improving survival rates is the time taken to administer early CPR and defibrillation.

“It’s our mission to make defibrillators as commonly thought of as fire extinguishers and smoke alarms. To make this happen, we need the community’s help.

“In Margaret River and Augusta we’re fortunate to have several CFR locations.

“However, we’re encouraging more community groups, clubs and businesses to come on-board as we close in on our target of 5000 locations in WA.”

To get involved, call 9334 1428.